Lira maintains power in the Chamber despite complaints against advisors

Despite recent denunciations and operations against allies, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), maintains his power over the Lower House of the Legislative. A People’s Gazettesources close to the parliamentarian claim that his influence has not been shaken.

On June 1, the Federal Police carried out an operation against a group suspected of fraud in bids and money laundering in Alagoas through the purchase of robotics equipment.

One of the targets was Luciano Ferreira Cavalcante, an employee of the Chamber of Deputies who was appointed to lead the PP in the House at the time the position was held by Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

Behind the scenes of the Chamber, Lira’s allies assess the operation as “retaliation” by the Planalto Palace because of the government’s successive defeats. In the week of the operation, the PT management and the Chamber escalated a conflict between the Powers. On the one hand, the Executive accused Lira of boycotting the government agenda. On the other hand, the President of the House complained about the government’s lack of coordination in dialoguing with Congress.

The reading of a source close to the president of the Chamber was that the operation would be the result of a retaliation by the government for the successive losses in the voting of proposals, such as the rejection of changes in the Marco do Saneamento, the obstacle with the PL of Fake News, and dehydration two ministries of the Environment and Indigenous Peoples

Comparing the influence of the current president with that of former president Eduardo Cunha, parliamentarians assess that Lira surpassed the former deputy. The capacity of the PP politician to manage the votes would be the great difference in this comparison.

According to another source in the Chamber, it is still too early to assess any impact on possible operations against allies of the President of the Chamber. The confidence gained by Lira among the leaders would strengthen her position in charge of the House.

The sources’ assessment follows the approval of Provisional Measure 1,154 of 2023, which restructured the Esplanada dos Ministérios and increased the number of Executive portfolios from 23 to 37. Having reached 120 days, the measure was on the verge of expiring, which forced the government to release R$ 1.7 billion in amendments to the Budget to benefit works indicated by congressmen.

The vote was expressive and Lira delivered 337 votes in favor of the MP. On the other hand, the president of the Chamber warned the government that he would give “the last vote of confidence” and demanded greater articulation between the Executive and the Legislative.

Filing at the STF gives breath to the president of the Chamber

The filing made by the First Panel of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) on the complaints against Lira in the case of bribes of the Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU), which took place this Tuesday (6), gave new impetus to the mayor.

In the complaint filed by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), Lira was accused of passive corruption for allegedly receiving R$ 106,000 in bribes in kind. However, in April of this year, the PGR changed its understanding and manifested itself by archiving the complaint presented by the body itself in 2018.

With the change in the opinion of the PGR, the ministers decided that André Mendonça could draw up a new vote on the case. The magistrate took over the reporting of the inquiry after the retirement of former minister Marco Aurélio de Mello, in 2021. At the time, the PGR was in favor of the complaint and the understanding was accepted by the former minister.

It is important to emphasize that the receipt was made by parliamentary advisors. They were caught at Congonhas Airport, in São Paulo, trying to fly to Brasília with the amount. After the occurrence, Arthur Lira admitted to having paid for the adviser’s round-trip tickets to the capital of São Paulo, but claimed not to know about the money.

With this Tuesday’s decision, the STF filed the fourth complaint arising from the accusations made by Lava Jato’s most famous money changer, Alberto Youssef. By rejecting the accusations in inquiries 3994, 3989 and 4631, the Court understood that the most recent accusation based on the accusation would be mere “gossip”.

The Executive’s fragility contributes to the strengthening of Lira

For the doctor in Political Science Elton Gomes, professor at the Federal University of Piauí, the fragility of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) contributes to the President of the Chamber accumulating power within the House.

“The current government came to power without having a structured parliamentary base. Before the government began, through the Expenditure PEC, it tried to expand the number of ministries and secretariats to include allies. But it wasn’t enough. The Legislature is somewhat ideologized and seeing the president’s fragility [Lula], congressmen demand a higher bill. Who has control of all this? The president of the Chamber of Deputies”, said Gomes.

Comparing the situation of Lira and Cunha, the professor explains that the current political moment is different from the impeachment scenario of former president Dilma Rousseff (PT).

“Lira has important institutional instruments to make the government’s life more difficult. On the other hand, the political conditions that led to the fall of Eduardo Cunho no longer exist: it was the anti-system context, of generalized crisis, of total discredit of the main political parties. Parliament has gained a lot of power over the Executive in recent years, at least since Dilma. Another unbalancing factor is the judicial activism of the Supreme Court. In favor of Lira, in this fight, you have the great strength of Congress to get the release of discretionary funds”.